The History of CAMPUT

CAMPUT traces its roots back to the early 1960s, when members of the Canadian Association of Utility Commissioners met annually to discuss matters of regulatory concern and common interest.

In April 1976, the Association of Utility Commissioners was reorganized and CAMPUT was formally established as the “Canadian Association of Members of Public Utility Tribunals”. The objective of the new association was to promote ” the quality of public utility regulation in Canada by providing the forum for the exchange of information and views among the members of the Association “. Also, founding members agreed to hold annual general meetings in host jurisdictions.

By the mid-1980s, the Association recognized a growing demand for further education and training in utility regulation within the Canadian context. In 1986, CAMPUT responded by developing a training and educational program for members and other invited officials which would be delivered through an annual educational conference. By 1990, the educational conference had become so popular that it was transformed into a public conference which, since 2003, has been called, simply, the CAMPUT Annual Conference.

In 2003, associate membership in CAMPUT became available to public utility tribunals or commissions from countries other than Canada, and in 2007 associate membership became available to other Canadian regulatory tribunals or commissions.

In 2011, the CAMPUT Constitution was amended to drop the name “Canadian Association of Members of Public Utility Tribunals”, but to continue using the acronym, since this is well recognized. CAMPUT became “Canada’s Energy and Utility Regulators“, and as a result of the change full membership is available to any Canadian tribunal, board, commission or agency that is responsible for the economic regulation of one or more utilities in its province, territory or jurisdiction, as well as to any Canadian energy tribunal, board, commission or agency that makes binding decisions through adjudicative or quasi-judicial processes.